Former Kansas commerce secretary Soave embroiled in lawsuit claiming financial misconduct

TOPEKA — Republican congressional candidate Antonio Soave claims to have been pressured to quit the administration of Gov. Sam Brownback after one of Soave’s business associates filed a lawsuit accusing the Cabinet secretary of financial misconduct, court documents said Friday.

Soave resigned as secretary of the Kansas Department of Commerce less than two weeks after Lawrence business partner Paola Ghezzo filed suit in June claiming Soave used Ghezzo’s $500,000 investment in their Overland Park consulting firm as “his own personal piggy bank” to maintain a “lavish lifestyle.” In more than two years of operation, their company had $20,000 in gross revenue.

Soave, who is seeking the GOP nomination for Congress in the Second District that includes Topeka, said in Johnson County District Court documents that Ghezzo falsely charged that he “misapplied and wasted” company assets. He said Ghezzo made inaccurate statements to people in state government to build pressure on him to resign as Cabinet secretary.

“Amidst this extreme pressure, Soave chose to resign as Kansas’ commerce secretary or be removed from office by the governor,” Soave’s attorneys said in a document responding to Ghezzo’s complaint.

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